At 9:17 a.m., the world stopped pretending it was stable.
Ethan Cole noticed because the numbers vanished.
The café was loud—steam hissing, cups clinking, someone laughing too hard at a joke that wasn't funny. Then, without warning, everything went quiet. Not silent. Paused.
No motion. No sound.
Just Ethan.
A pane of light unfolded in front of him, sharp and clean, like reality had opened a menu.
GLOBAL AWAKENING COMMENCING
The letters felt heavy. Final.
The pause broke.
People screamed.
A woman dropped her phone and fell to her knees, clutching her head as golden symbols burned into the air above her.
Class Assigned: Mage (Common)
More messages erupted across the café, across the city, across the world.
Warrior.Assassin.Healer.
Some laughed. Some cried. Some froze, staring at the word Common like it was a verdict.
Ethan waited.
Nothing appeared for him.
No class. No weapon. No glow.
A pressure built in his chest. Not fear—recognition. Like standing at the edge of something deep.
Then the air shifted.
A second window slid into view, colder than the rest.
[Hidden System Detected]Synchronization Complete
His breath caught.
Ability Acquired: Probability PerceptionView success rates, drop chances, concealed outcomesStatus: Passive — PermanentRarity: Unregistered
The cafe doors exploded inward.
Something massive forced itself through the opening, horns scraping concrete, eyes burning like coals pressed into a skull.
People ran.
Ethan didn't.
Above the creature's head, numbers formed—clean, indifferent.
Threat Level: HighSurvival if Engaged: 3%
Someone tried to fight it. A man with a glowing sword and shaking hands.
Survival: 12%
The man screamed.
He didn't survive.
Glass shattered. Blood sprayed the wall. Panic turned ugly, desperate.
Ethan focused.
Not on the monster.
On the exits.
Run Now: Survival 38%Hide Behind Counter: 54%Wait 2.6 seconds → Step left → Exit through side door: 96%
Time slowed.
Two seconds.
A claw smashed into the space where his head had been.
Ethan stepped left.
He walked.
Behind him, death followed probability.
Ahead of him, the world burned.
Outside, the street had become a battlefield. Portals tore the sky open. Creatures poured through. People died screaming, fighting, begging.
Numbers hovered over everything.
Ethan breathed.
For his entire life, he had failed.
Tests he studied for.Jobs he wanted.People he trusted.
Luck had never been on his side.
But this?
This wasn't luck.
This was clarity.
First Dungeon NearbyEntry Survival: 71%Rare Drop Probability: 42%Legendary Drop Probability: 0.5%
Ethan smiled.
Not because the odds were good.
But because, for the first time, he could see them.
In a world ruled by chance, Ethan Cole would never gamble again.